Thursday, June 09, 2005

It's in the context

In NZ, the word “kiwi” could refer to a bird, a fruit, a person, or the country.

The kiwi bird is a flightless bird, kasi walang pakpak. It is native to NZ and is a national symbol of the country. Actually, sa zoo lang ako nakakita ng kiwi bird. It is very hard to spot these birds in the wild because they’re nocturnal. Sa gabi lang gumagala.

“Kiwi” can also refer to a person born in NZ or someone who’s lived in NZ for a sufficient amount of time. When used as an adjective, the word Kiwi can also refer to NZ as a country. For example: The Kiwi flag.

Ang tipid naman nila sa salita ano? Using the same word for different things. Nakakalito tuloy. One has to derive the thing being referred to from the context of the conversation. I know I’ve used the word “kiwi” lots of times before. If you are unable to derive it’s meaning from the context, huwag kayong mahihiyang magtanong. For now I will be the one to give you a simple test. Tingnan ko kung talagang attentive kayo. Can you guess what I am referring to when I ask: “nakatikim ka na ba ng kiwi?”

Hello Ka Uro, your question is tricky and may give different answers depending on the state of mind of the person answering it.Anyway thanks for the infomative write-up, visiting your blog is really something that cant be missed. God Bless

Your post was informative and entertaining. Nakakalito nga yung paggamit ng word na "kiwi." Kala ko noon prutas lang, up until I had a Kiwi classmate referred to as "Kiwi" by the teacher. At that time, nalito ako. Now, I know better.

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About

Reflections on life, my past and anything under the sun as well as a journal of how it is to live in Aotearoa, "The Land of the Long White Cloud", which is New Zealand, from the viewpoint of a middle class Filipino family. Mga hinagpis, kakwelahan, ka-homesick-an ng isang Pinoy sa lupa ng mga ibong walang pakpak (kiwis) na mahaba ang tuka.

About Me

tipikal na pinoy workng in the IT industry. pero hindi mukhang nerd (that's what you think, sabi naman ng bruha kong anak). may maganda, mabait at napaka-sarap maglutong asawa at isang napakatalinong (mana sa ina), nagdadalagang anak. i've been in IT since the early 80's (tanda na no?). have worked in Saudi Arabia, then in Cal,USA, before finally settling in Auckland in '96.

Living in NZ

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